I Love Ya Ms. Keys but You May Want to Curtail Your Time at The Barbershop! Alicia Keys & the Great Gangsta Conspiracy!

I don't want to spend too much time on this but I would like to say my piece on this latest bit of celebrity drivel. First, what is the deal with the media's obsession with people of color who self-identify themselves as Black (Keys, Obama, Halle) and whose parentage is biracial? America's societal structure has been pretty clear as to how much African blood is deemed tolerable....none. So when Keys made some rather off the wall comments centered on conspiratorial thinking, I noticed several newspapers that often preface her lineage first. I find this interesting if you juxtapose Obama's Rev. Wright troubles under the same premise. I suspect that many Whites find it odd that Obama or Keyes would align themselves with dubious Black cultural idioms or beliefs. Newsflash! Like other Black folks they have no choice but to live Black lives. Regardless of the circumstances of one's parentage, a phenotypical Black person is still subject to the trials and tribulations of life as a minority. As a conservative, I do believe that one must overcome these circumstances but racial realities are just that.....reality. Now regarding Alicia's comments-they amount to what one may often hear in a Black barbershop. Take it from one who knows, being the son of a barber. Let's take a closer look at the comments in question, courtesy of the Dallas News:

In a potentially controversial chat with Blender mag, Alicia Keys, 27, says, “Gangsta rap was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. Gangsta rap didn’t exist.”

Ms. Keys, sporting a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck, says she has been reading books by some of the members of the Black Panthers.

She says the feud between East Coast and West Coast rappers, which led to the murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., was fueled “by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing.”

The singer is not available for comment, her rep says.

This is what happens when pop culture exalts entertainers (such as Tupac or Biggie in this case) to the likes of Dr. King or Malcolm X. I have even witnessed inner city businesses that have had pictures of MLK side by side with portraits of the aforementioned rap heroes. And trust me, if you ever bear witness to such photos, it also explains just how far Black consciousness has fallen. What do you guys think? Let's hear your thoughts and I may pick this topic up again during this Thursday's Afronerd Radio broadcast.